Have you ever sat in a meeting surrounded by people who sound like they know exactly what they're talking about and wondered if you're the only one who doesn't have all the answers?

That's where our conversation starts this week, when Amy asks a question we've probably all wondered at some point: Does anybody actually have it figured out? From corporate boardrooms to social media, we talk about the pressure to appear confident, successful and completely in control, even when life behind the scenes tells a different story. On social media, it seems like everyone either has the perfect life or is sharing every detail of the one that's falling apart. Whatever happened to somewhere in the middle?

That leads us into a conversation about confidence, work ethic, staying positive and the experiences that shape who we become. Of course, we take a few detours along the way, sharing stories from decades in the corporate world, including being underestimated and the pay disparities we've witnessed between men and women doing the same jobs.

It's a conversation about appearances, assumptions, hard work, resilience and realizing that maybe nobody has it all figured out.

And maybe that's perfectly okay.

• (00:00:00) - Introduction: Two Careers Finally Meet
• (00:00:37) - Nobody Has It All Figured Out
• (00:00:48) - Social Media and the Appearance of Perfection
• (00:01:27) - Bullying, Self-Deprecation, and Childhood Pressure
• (00:02:32) - Corporate Leadership Illusions and Imposter Syndrome
• (00:04:08) - Fake Leaders and Servant Leadership
• (00:06:20) - Learning to Listen Instead of Always Being Right
• (00:08:10) - Being Called the 'B Word' for Confidence
• (00:09:29) - Breaking Into the Male-Dominated Broadcasters Board
• (00:10:42) - Gender Pay Inequity in Broadcasting
• (00:12:07) - Building Confidence From Humble Beginnings
• (00:14:24) - Finding Confidence Through College Turning Points
• (00:16:12) - Finding Your Tribe and Positive Influences
• (00:17:50) - Worries About Technology, AI, and Disconnection
• (00:19:34) - Safety Concerns for Kids and Women Today
• (00:20:33) - Hope for Cures and the Value of Real Conversation
• (00:23:29) - Video Calls, Confidence, and Self-Image Humor
• (00:25:43) - Readjusting Through Career Curveballs
• (00:27:03) - Returning Changed: The 'New Lisa' Story
• (00:27:48) - Needing Challenge and Growth as Women

In our first episode, we talked about how we spent more than 25 years running in parallel circles without ever actually meeting. But we skipped one pretty important part of the story. Who are we, and how did we get here.

This week, we're going back to the beginning.

Lisa shares her journey from college to working in Europe, building a marketing office, and eventually establishing her own marketing agency. Amy talks about her path through the television industry, from her early days in broadcasting to leading television stations and building media operations.

Along the way, we talk about the opportunities we took, the decisions that shaped our careers, and the experiences that brought us to where we are today.

Our careers may have taken different directions, but we discovered that many of the lessons and experiences were surprisingly similar.

Before we get too far into The Long Game, we thought you should know a little more about the two people behind the microphones.

• (00:00:00) - Intro and welcome back
• (00:00:37) - Podcast launch recap and where to listen
• (00:02:01) - Lisa's early career: teaching dream to publishing
• (00:04:01) - Lisa's move to Amsterdam and life abroad
• (00:05:29) - Building payment systems and move to New Hampshire/TV Guide
• (00:06:53) - Starting her own company after 9/11
• (00:08:06) - Landing first clients and launching the business
• (00:09:51) - Growth into social media and AI marketing
• (00:11:38) - How Lisa and Amy met
• (00:12:28) - Finding real friendship among women
• (00:12:48) - Amy's college years and changing majors
• (00:14:29) - Mission trip to Africa and discovering journalism
• (00:15:46) - Starting in broadcast news
• (00:16:26) - First day mishaps and loving the newsroom
• (00:17:29) - Oklahoma City bombing coverage and career growth
• (00:18:05) - Working with Oral Roberts and TV Guide production
• (00:19:21) - Launching a national Christian network
• (00:19:53) - Running Channel 2 and rebuilding News Oklahoma
• (00:20:42) - Getting fired and the Oklahoma City commute
• (00:22:08) - New opportunity with weather network and meeting Lisa
• (00:23:03) - Reflecting on parallel careers and shared lessons
• (00:23:54) - Discovering they worked at TV Guide together
• (00:25:20) - Work ethic, business philosophy, and encouragement
• (00:26:33) - Encouraging women to pursue their ambitions
• (00:27:58) - Owning strength and labels as women leaders
• (00:28:54) - Clients as friends and building real relationships
• (00:30:30) - Closing thoughts, invitations, and sign-off

How do two women spend more than 25 years working in the same city, knowing many of the same people, crossing the same circles, working for the same place and somehow never meet?

That’s pretty much our story. In our first episode of The Long Game, we talk about how a client sponsorship finally brought us together, how we reconnected afterward because we genuinely wanted to keep hanging out, and how quickly we realized just how much our lives and careers had been running parallel all these years.
And maybe the biggest surprise was the friendship itself. At this point in life, you don’t necessarily expect to meet someone new and have it click almost immediately. But it did.

We talk about that, the strange connections we keep uncovering from the past 25 years, and why we’re having so much fun figuring out where this goes.

Turns out, sometimes the right people show up a little later than expected

• (00:00:06) - Introducing the Long Game podcast
• (00:00:51) - Two parallel careers that never crossed
• (00:02:34) - How they first knew of each other
• (00:04:17) - Redefining careers in a new season of life
• (00:06:09) - The first meeting and instant connection
• (00:09:07) - Building a fast friendship
• (00:13:11) - Digital footprints and dating red flags
• (00:16:11) - Believing in God's timing and life's seasons
• (00:17:24) - Love stories and how they met their partners
• (00:18:20) - The Amsterdam adventure story
• (00:21:07) - Why now? Redefining careers in their 50s
• (00:22:34) - Getting eliminated and finding purpose
• (00:23:45) - Confidence, aging, and gratitude after cancer
• (00:26:09) - The power of a female tribe
• (00:29:38) - Celebrating Tulsa's powerful women
• (00:31:14) - Wrapping up and looking ahead